22/3/09
Ashford Under 18 Girls 4 v Teddington Under 18 Girls 2
It was a beautiful, sunny day when Laura’s Ladies stepped out to face arch-enemy Teddington. With the woman herself yet to turn up to coach, the girls got themselves ready, with a bit of drama as someone forgot her shoes. A lazy warm up, with the girls lapping up the sun, followed. Both teams went head to head with Teddington grabbing an early goal, but the U18s refused to put their heads down. Soon after, LIV YOUNG made a cracking cross which LITTLE LIV GIVEN neatly deflected in. Ashford put the pressure on immediately and quickly gained a short-corner. LIV YOUNG struck the ball precisely in the bottom left-hand corner, the score now 2-1 in the Red’s favour. Teddington soon got their own back, by sneaking in a goal seconds before the half-time whistle went. A quick talk was given and tactics changed by LAURA QUINN before the girls were pumped up – as the even score meant the game was open for anyone’s taking. Ashford got a break and some fabulous passing by LIV YOUNG & KELLY TAYLOR, their one-twos around the Teddington defence lead to an amazing strike by LIV YOUNG which promptly went in. The heat meant the girl’s began to tire, but there was no time for resting as the defence had to work hard to stop the breaks from developing into anything. GK BECKY HEWES made some really fantastic saves, FIONA MITCHELL really hassled her marker, MEGAN CONNELL positioned herself really well on sixteens which resulted in some real quality switches. Teddington then was awarded some short-corners which were kept out by some great running from ANNA PROTHERO, MEGAN CONNELL and saves from BECKY HEWES. The shorts were well read by skipper KIRSTY HULL who got the girls into shape. ABI (HACKER) HACK and ABBY COWELL had some great touches and tackles which really annoyed the Pinks. In addition, BRYONY SMITH made some first-class runs down the right. In the last few minutes of the game, Laura’s Ladies were given a short corner. ANNA PROTHERO, who played outstandingly, pushed out to LIV YOUNG, who too was on fire, who gave it to KELLY TAYLOR who made a magnificent flick into the goal, a rare skill used in colts hockey. End score 4-2, indeed it seems Teddington is losing its touch and Ashford is too hot to handle…
Thanks to Shane White and Lorna Burrell for umpiring, Alison Boxell for managing, Laura Quinn for turning up (albeit slightly late 
), Liv Young for driving, Bryony Smith for lending some shoes and the usual lot for the cheering.
Written by Eline Sibia, Bryony Smith, Kirsty Hull
